T-edge cutter

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for cutting and notching T-edging comprising male and female notching die members, pneumatic means for moving the male die member with respect to the female die members, an axially movable cutting blade for severing the T-edging, an air cylinder for actuating the cutting blade, and guard means enclosing the cutting blade.

United States Patent Congrove 1 Dec.26,1972

' [54] T-EDGE CUTTER [72] Inventor: Ronald L. Congrove, Phoenix, Ariz.

[73] Assignee: Royal Industries, Inc., Pasadena,

Calif.

[22] Filed: Sept. 30, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 185,031

[52] US. Cl. ..83/5l3, 83/917, 83/518, 83/636, 83/693 [51] Int. Cl ..B26d 9/00, B26d 5/12 [58] Field of Search ..83/917, 518, 513, 636, 622, 83/692, 693

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,119,296 1/1964 Foster ..83/636 1/1967 Johnson ..83/917 9/1971 Love etal ..83/518 Primary Examiner-Donald R. Schran Attorney-Lynn G. Foster [57] ABSTRACT Apparatus for cutting and notching T-edging comprising male and female notching die members, pneumatic means for moving the male die member with respect to the female die members, an axially movable cutting blade for severing the T-edging, an air cylinder for acmating the cutting blade, and guard means enclosing the cutting blade.

6 C lairns, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTEU 1 3,707,104

SHEET 1 or 4 FIGI PATENTED DEC 26 m2 SHEEI 3 [1F 4 FIG. 3

PATENTED DEC 2 6 m2 sum u 0F 4 FIG. 4

T-EDGE CUTTER BACKGROUND generally T-shaped in cross-section, having a leg extending substantially perpendicularly from a head portion which may be planar, curved, or decoratively formed. It is customary to provide such T-edging in relatively long lengths. Consequently, for installation, it is necessary to cut the edging tothe desired length and to notch the leg portion to permit bending of the edging about curves and corners. Obviously, considerable time and effort is required to accomplish this, which signifi-.

cantly increases the cost of manufacturing and installing such cabinets.

Numerous attempts have been made to overcome these problems. However, none of the prior art devices have been entirely satisfactory. Many of the prior art devices have been bulky and complex, while others have employed exposed blades which were hazardous to operating employees.

BRIEF SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION These disadvantages of the prior art are overcome with the present invention and novel means are provided for notching and severing T-edging quickly, accurately and safely. Moreover, the device of the present invention is compact and easy to operate and maintain. v

The advantages of the present invention are preferably attained by providing a T-edge cutter comprising block means for supporting the T-edge to be cut formed with a female notching die and a severing slot extending therethrough, a male notching die actuable to cooperate with said female die to notch said T-edge, a severing blade actuable to sever said T-edge, a housing disposed about said severing blade, and fluid actuating means for actuating said male notching die and said severing blade.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide improved means for cutting T-edging.

Another object of the present invention is to provide means for safely cutting T-edging.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide means for cutting T-edging which is compact and which is easy to use and maintain.

A specific object of the present invention is to provide a T-edge cutter comprising block means for supporting a T-edge to be cut formed with a female notching die and a severing slot extending therethrough, a male notching die actuable to cooperate with said female die to notch said T-edge, a severing blade actuable to sever said T-edge, a housing disposed about said severing blade, and fluid actuating means for actuating said male notching die and said severing blade.

These and other objects and features of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, taken with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an isometric view of an edge trimming device embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the T-edge cutter of FIG. 1;'

FIG. 3 is a vertical section through the T-edge cutter of FIG. 1, taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a vertical section through the T-edge cutter of FIG. 1, taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is an exploded isometric view of an alternative form of the block of the T-edge cutter of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT In that form of the present invention chosen forpurposes of illustration, FIG. 1 shows a T-edge cutting device, indicated generally at 2, comprising a workbench 4 having a substantially .flat upper surface 6 which is supported by a generally rectangular base 8 carried by suitable legs 10.

As best seen in FIGS. 2-4, the T-edge cutter 2 comprises a block 14 mounted on the surface 6 of workbench 4 and having a recess 16 extending along one side 18 thereof and formed to receive the head portion of a T-edge. The block 14 is also formed with a slot 24 extending vertically therethrough and intersecting side 18 adjacent one end of block 14. A pair of die blocks 26 and 28 are secured to side 18 of block 14 and are provided with transverse slots 30 and 32 formed to slidingly receive the base portion of the T-edge. In addition, die block 26 is formed with a vertical slot 36 which, essentially, forms an extension of slot 24 of block 14. The die blocks 26 and 28 have opposing bevelled surfaces 38 and 40 which intersect slots 30 and 32 and cooperate to form a female notching die. A generally triangular, male notching die member 42 has bevelled surfaces 44 and 46, formed to mate with surfaces 38 and 40 of die blocks 26 and 28 to define a notching die, while the third surface 48 is provided with a vertical recess 50 formed to receive one end 52 of an elongated plate 54 to which the die member 42 is fixedly secured, A backing plate 56 is secured to and extends across flat surfaces 58 and 60 of die blocks 2 and 28 and serves to maintain male die member 42 in mating relation with the die blocks 26 and 28. Finally, a pair of elongated guard plates 6 and 64 are mounted on the top of block 14' and extend upwardly along respective sides of slots 24 and 36. A pair of generally striplike spacer members 66 and 68 are secured between and extend substantially the full length of the front and rear edges of guard plates 62 and 64.

An opening 70 is provided in surface 6 of workbench 4 beneath block 14 which underlies slots 24 and 36 and freely accommodates the lower end 72 of plate 54.

Beneath the surface 6 of workbench 4, the lower end 7 72 of plate 54 is secured to one end 74 of an arm 76 which is bifurcated at its opposite end, as seen at 78, and is provided with an opening 80 extending vertically therethrough. The plunger 82 of a suitable pneumatic clamp 84 extends through opening 80 of arm 76 and arm 76 is clamped to the plunger 82 by suitable means, such as cap screw 86 which mates with an internally threaded bore 88 extending transversely through the bifurcated ends 78 of arm 76. The pneumatic clamp 84 may be of any suitable type, such as a 3453A air clamp, available from Scovill Manufacturing Co., Inc., New York City, New York.

An elongated air cylinder 90 having an axially movable piston 92 is mounted in vertical orientation beneath the workbench 4 and a cutting blade 94 is secured to the piston 92 and extends upwardly therefrom through opening 80 of workbench 4 and slots 24 and 36 of block 14 and die block 26. As shown, the toothed edge 96 of cutting blade 94 tapers outwardly from its lower end 98 to the upper end 100. Thus, when piston 92 is in its extended position, cutting blade 94 will be its raised position and will lie wholly between guard plates 62 and 64 and within block 14 and will not extend into recess 16 of block 14. Finally, guard plates 102 and 104 extend upwardly from the top of air cylinder 90 to the bottom of workbench 4 along opposite side of cutting blade 94. The pneumatic clamp 84 and air cylinder 90 may be actuated by any suitable hand or foot operated valve to control passage of pressurized air thereto from any suitable source.

In use, the T-edge 22 is slid into the "Hedge cutter 2 with the head portion 20 of T-edge 22 resting in recess 16 of block 14 and the base portion 34 extending through slots 30 and 32 of die blocks 26 and 28. When desired, clamp 84 is actuated, driving plunger 82, arm 76, plate 54, and male die member 42 downwardly. This causes surfaces 44 and 46 of die member 42 to cooperate with surfaces 38 and 40 of die blocks 26 and 28 to notch the base portion 34 of T-edge 22. Similarly, when desired, air cylinder 90 is actuated, driving piston 92 and cutting blade 94 downward. As cutting blade 94 moves downward, the tapered edge 96 will, effectively, move across recess 16 of block 14, through slots 24 and 36, and will sever the T-edge 22.

FIG. illustrates a block mechanism indicated generally at 106, which may be substituted for block 14 in the T-edge cutter 2 of FIG. 1. As shown, the block mechanism 106 comprises generally rectangular block position 108 having a pair of generally L-shaped legs 110 and 112 depending adjacent respective ends of the block portion 108. Each of the legs 110 and 112 are formed with end portions 114, which extend beneaththe respective ends of block portion 108, and back portions 116, which extend towards each other beneath the rear edge of block portion 108 to define a chamber 118 beneath the block portion 108 having an opening 120 communicating with the rear of the block mechanism 106 between the back portions 116 of legs 110 and 112. An ejector block 122 is normally seated in the chamber 1 18 and has a projection 124 which extends rearwardly from ejector block 122 through the opening 120. An air cylinder 126 is mounted adjacent the rear of block mechanism 106 and has a piston 128 connectedto projection 124 of ejector block 122. The front surfaces of legs 110 and 112 and ejector block 122 are formed to define a recess, indicated at 130, corresponding to recess 16 of block 14 of FIG. 1, for receiving the head portion of a T-edge. Moreover, a vertical slot 132, corresponding to slot 36 in block 14 of FIG. 1, extends through block portion 108 and leg 110 of the block mechanism 106 to accommodate cutting blade 94:

In operation, when block mechanism 106 is substituted for block 14 in the T-edge cutter 2, notching and cutting of the T-edge are performed in the manner previously described. However, should the T-edge tend to become jammed in the T-edge cutter 2, as a result of the cutting operation, pressurized air from a suitable source may be admitted to cylinder 126, through a suitable hand or foot operated valve, to cause piston 128 to advance ejector block 122 out of chamber 118 to release the T-edge.

Obviously, numerous variations and modifications may be' made without departing from the present invention. Accordingly, it should be clearly understood that the form of the present invention described above and shown in the accompanying drawing is illustrative only and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for cutting and notching T-edging, said apparatus comprising:

a block having a recess extending along one surface thereof to receive and support the head portion of a T-edge and having a slot extending vertically through said block adjacent one end thereof and intersecting said recess,

a pair of die blocks secured to said one surface of said block having transverse slots extending therethrough to support the base portion of said T- edge and opposing surfaces intersecting said transverse slots and defining a female notching die, vertical slot extending through one of said die blocks and positioned to form an extension of the vertical slot in said block,

a male die member formed' to cooperate with said opposing surfaces of said die blocks to notch said base portion of said T-edge and reciprocable along said surfaces to accomplish notching of said T- edge,

cutting means reciprocable through said vertical slots between a first position out of contact with said T-edge and a second position to sever said T- edge, and

means for reciprocating said male die member and said cutting means.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein:

said means for reciprocating comprises pneumatically actuated means.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein said cutting means comprises:

a cutting blade having a toothed edge tapering outwardly from one end thereof to the other end thereof.

4. The device of claim 1 further comprising:

a pair of guard plates secured to said block adjacent respective sides. of said slot and enclosing said cutting means.

5. The device of claim 1 wherein said means for reciprocating comprises:

an air cylinder having a piston connected to said cutting means. 4

6. The device of claim 1 further comprising:

a chamber formed in said block and communicating with said one surface of said block,

an ejector block normally seated in said chamber and having a surface cooperating with said one surface of said block to define said recess, and

chamber. 

1. Apparatus for cutting and notching T-edging, said apparatus comprising: a block having a recess extending along one surface thereof to receive and support the head portion of a T-edge and having a slot extending vertically through said block adjacent one end thereof and intersecting said recess, a pair of die blocks secured to said one surface of said block having transverse slots extending therethrough to support the base portion of said T-edge and opposing surfaces intersecting said transverse slots and defining a female notching die, a vertical slOt extending through one of said die blocks and positioned to form an extension of the vertical slot in said block, a male die member formed to cooperate with said opposing surfaces of said die blocks to notch said base portion of said T-edge and reciprocable along said surfaces to accomplish notching of said T-edge, cutting means reciprocable through said vertical slots between a first position out of contact with said T-edge and a second position to sever said T-edge, and means for reciprocating said male die member and said cutting means.
 2. The device of claim 1 wherein: said means for reciprocating comprises pneumatically actuated means.
 3. The device of claim 1 wherein said cutting means comprises: a cutting blade having a toothed edge tapering outwardly from one end thereof to the other end thereof.
 4. The device of claim 1 further comprising: a pair of guard plates secured to said block adjacent respective sides of said slot and enclosing said cutting means.
 5. The device of claim 1 wherein said means for reciprocating comprises: an air cylinder having a piston connected to said cutting means.
 6. The device of claim 1 further comprising: a chamber formed in said block and communicating with said one surface of said block, an ejector block normally seated in said chamber and having a surface cooperating with said one surface of said block to define said recess, and means for advancing said ejector block out of said chamber. 